?Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can't buy more hours. Scientists can't invent new minutes. And you can't save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow."
~Denis Waitely
If time were nothing more than an incidental commodity, it's doubtful that the following phrases would clutter our everyday speech:
A stitch in time…
Lost time…
Found time…
Time is money.
Compress time…
Time stood still.
The time of my life…
The sands of time…
Real-time…
Killing time…
As time goes by…
Father time…
Time is on our side.
Time worked against her.
Time is the greatest leveler in the universe. He or she who uses time wisely wins. Unfortunately, many have no grasp of time: they're always late, annoying the daylights out of the punctual—at best. It's interesting that those with no conception or appreciation of time seem to get the leftover goods time and again. Yet, they never seem to make the connection. Some even refuse to wear a watch! (I don't like jewelry—whine, whine, whine!)
From Whence We Came
The heavenly bodies—the stars, the sun and the moon—served as our first watches, and they predate the sundial, the first major advance in timekeeping, by eons. The watch's primary function remains to keep track of time. Modern watches originated as functional, portable, mechanical, clocks. 19th century watches were often carried in the pocket, and included a protective cover, similar to the cover on a woman's compact. Often, they were attached to the clothing by a chain. Wristwatches entered the marketplace in the late 19th century as a woman's fashion accessory, and credit goes to Cartier for popularizing the wristwatch with the leather band.
The first mechanical wristwatches required manual winding. During the 1950s, Hamilton Watch Company introduced the first battery-powered watch, which required no winding. The first digital watch appeared in the 1970s, but digital watches still have not replaced analog watches due, in part, to a wildly successful marketing campaign by Swatch. Toward the end of the 20th century, a consortium of Swiss watchmakers and worldwide graphical designers resurrected the analog watch as a throwaway fashion accessory, and introduced their first wild designs in 1983. It's the design stupid! Swatches flew off the shelves and they remain true to their original concept—cheap, fun, bold, Swiss—analog.
Along the way, watches evolved into solar operated, kinetic powered (self-winding), lithium powered, digital, light-emitting diode (LED), liquid crystal display (LDC), and waterproof. Today's men's watches routinely include a calendar, and many women's watches also include a calendar. But why stop there? You can find a watch to suit your every need. Today's watches contain calculators, digital cameras, cell phones, and games. There have been several attempts to create a computer watch, but to date, only one has made it to market, the Ruputer, by Seiko, and it didn't last. At the time, it proved unmarketable, but stay tuned…
Whether you want high-tech functionality or you prefer to concentrate on the aesthetics of your timepiece, watches are still about marking time, that precious, finite commodity around which our everyday lives revolve.
About the author:
M J Plaster is a successful author who provides information on shopping online for watches, watch bands, and pocket watches. M J Plaster has been a commercial freelance writer for almost two decades, most recently specializing in home and garden, the low-carb lifestyle, investing, and anything that defines la dolce vita.
Current Fashion Trends in
Costume Jewelry and Accessories
by: Michael Gietl
Color Trends in Costume Jewelry
The fall fashion trends are ushering in another excellent season for
costume jewelry and accessories. Rich colors and bold looks dominate the
trend. Teal, amber and amethyst are the important colors with olivine and
green used as neutrals. Topaz and peacock are also important and all
indications are that rich color will continue into the spring season.
Metals are seeing a return to gold, but silver is still stronger.
Bold Designs Dominate Fashion Jewelry
Fashion jewelry thrives when bold designs are in vogue and that is very
much the case this season. The high fashion look is popular in necklaces,
earrings, and bracelets with natural components contributing to the
designs. Wood is continuing its second season of popularity with shell
important even in the fall line. But the rising star in natural materials
is gemstone, which provides the beauty of natural semiprecious stones to
the costume jewelry designs. This will definitely continue and accelerate
in the spring line. Also popular in neckwear are 48 inch and 60 inch ropes
that are worn extended or doubled. Jet is strong in holiday jewelry and
estate looks (antique designs) are becoming fashionable in bridal jewelry.
Traditional Costume Jewelry and Accessories
While costume jewelry in bold designs and rich colors forge the way for
leading fashion, there is a larger market that shouldn’t be ignored in
more traditional and classic looks. Theme jewelry in pendants, earrings,
and charm bracelets has an appeal that goes beyond fashion alone because
it identifies with what the wearer cares about. In addition, traditional
rhinestone, bridal jewelry, evening bags, and formal gloves have a classic
look with timeless appeal. There is a major market for these items that
will always be present even as fashion changes.
Accessory Trends
Sequins and buttons are very big in all accessories, especially in
handbags and evening bags. Beyond these, the looks of the larger bags
introduced by leading designers are the trendy styles of the season. These
are the bags the stars are carrying, which goes a long ways towards
popularizing the styles. In evening bags, large sequins and buttons are
very much in vogue, but traditional looks seem to be carrying the day.
Sunglasses are definitely big and bold with aviators the runaway
favorite. Retro looks are also excellent and colored frames with matching
lenses are very popular.
Hats and Headwear
In millinery, dress hats are an important part of the market, with
ladies hats the dominant player. The looks are very traditional with a new
element of pre-made bands allowing for the versatility of custom designs.
Casual hats, however, account for the major share of the market and no
design in 2005 is more important than the rollup cowboy hat. While the
design is not popular in every region of the country, the sheer number of
sales makes it the number one hat of the year. This rugged look that is
typically American has risen to such popularity that it becomes an
important fashion statement. After cowboy hats, the three most fashionable
designs are wide brim floppy hats, ladies fedoras, and newsboys. The
entertainment field has played a major roll in popularizing these designs
and the fashion looks continue into the fall season with felt, leather,
wool, and leatherette used as the material for the fall versions.
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